Chapter 169 : To Seoul (4)
Lee Taeyeon assumed a defensive stance, gripping her sword with both hands and firmly planting her feet.
Crash.
Taesan broke through her defense with sheer force.
Lee Taeyeon rolled on the ground. Taesan swung his sword again. Kang Jun-hyuk, who was charging at him, blocked the attack with his own sword but was sent flying due to the overwhelming difference in strength.
“Find an answer. Otherwise, you will die.”
Taesan kicked off the ground.
Crack!
He pierced through Lee Taeyeon’s defense and slashed her leg. She let out a short groan as she created some distance between them.
Sweat beaded on her forehead.
‘Strength alone won’t do.’
Neither speed nor swordsmanship, nor any other method could counter him.
Kang Jun-hyuk was thinking along similar lines. For the first time, they began to use their skills.
“Hup!”
Lee Taeyeon, with a short shout, charged at Kang Taesan. Simultaneously, Kang Jun-hyuk aimed for Taesan’s back.
Seeing both of them attacking from the front and back, Taesan lightly swung his sword.
As the sword came flying toward her, Lee Taeyeon planted her feet more firmly.
[Lee Taeyeon activated Parry.]
A skill that distorts the trajectory of the opponent’s attack—Parry.
Skills in the Labyrinth were absolute. No matter how strong Taesan was, she believed he couldn’t ignore this.
And it wasn’t a completely wrong judgment. Taesan’s sword, which was aimed at Lee Taeyeon, suddenly veered off course.
But that was all.
Taesan applied more force to his sword.
Just like the fallen apostle before, the twisted trajectory was forcibly corrected by his strength.
As the sword came crashing down toward her, Lee Taeyeon hastily raised her own sword to block.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Her knees hit the ground. Shock and disbelief filled her eyes.
‘Parry was ignored?’
When she first acquired the Parry skill, she had shouted in joy.
A skill that could definitively avoid an opponent’s attack. She believed that with this, she would hardly ever be in danger of dying, that she could somehow survive.
But now, the skill she had believed in so firmly was completely nullified.
Taesan ignored her shock and charged at Kang Jun-hyuk.
Seeing the sword swinging towards him, Kang Jun-hyuk quickly activated his skill in fright.
[Kang Jun-hyuk activated Counter.]
A skill that automatically retaliates against an opponent’s attack—Counter.
It was a skill that even Taesan had found quite useful.
But there was one drawback to that skill.
Taesan added more strength to his sword. The sword flew at a speed incomparable to before. Kang Jun-hyuk instinctively sensed something was wrong and quickly moved his body.
Crash.
Kang Jun-hyuk was sent flying.
Taesan nodded.
“That’s the answer. If you had relied on Counter and charged, you would have died.”
Counter automatically retaliates against an attack.
But it doesn’t work properly against an attack so overwhelming that it can’t be countered or even avoided.
This limitation was usually insignificant unless facing an opponent many levels stronger. But in the Labyrinth, such enemies were not uncommon.
“Keep going.”
Taesan kicked off the ground.
Kang Jun-hyuk, drenched in sweat, gritted his teeth.
His heart pounded.
An opponent who rendered even his most trusted skills meaningless.
A being with overwhelming strength.
Such an opponent was trying to kill him.
His health had already fallen below 20%. Taesan was really attacking with intent to kill. Fear of dying flashed through his mind.
Up until now, he had been faster and more precise than usual, but now he was unknowingly surpassing his limits.
Kang Jun-hyuk’s mind raced.
He couldn’t rely on skills. He couldn’t block or counter.
There was only one answer. He had to become faster and more precise than ever. Kang Jun-hyuk focused his mind.
Lee Taeyeon was in a similar situation. Seeing Taesan charge at her with a sunken gaze, she took up her sword.
Clang.
At the moment of contact, she twisted her arm. She diverted the force and changed the direction.
Just as Taesan’s sword was about to hit the ground, he exerted strength in his arm and bounced it off.
Clang!
Lee Taeyeon was sent flying. She landed quickly, her eyes unwavering.
Kang Jun-hyuk was similar. He also tried to deflect Taesan’s sword as much as possible. Although it was countered like Lee Taeyeon’s attempt, Kang Jun-hyuk did not give up.
“Teaching a skill is quite tough.”
Taesan grumbled and continued swinging his sword. Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk’s movements became increasingly precise.
They fought for another hour.
And finally.
[Kang Jun-hyuk’s Sword Mastery increased by 1%.]
[Lee Taeyeon’s Sword Mastery increased by 1%.]
“Hah.”
Kang Jun-hyuk barely caught his breath. Both of them stared blankly at the system window in front of them.
Seeing their reaction, Taesan stopped his sword.
“Finally.”
Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk, exhausted, began to spar with each other.
Even though they were so fatigued that they wanted to rest immediately, they couldn’t help but verify their skills.
Lee Taeyeon charged at Kang Jun-hyuk.
[Lee Taeyeon activated Parry.]
Kang Jun-hyuk swung his sword. Just as it was about to clash with Lee Taeyeon’s sword, the trajectory wavered.
“Huh!”
Kang Jun-hyuk tried to correct it quickly but couldn’t avoid taking a hit.
“Oh…”
“This is…”
They couldn’t hide their amazement.
“Let’s try again.”
They continued to practice the skills they had learned. After confirming Parry, Forceful Strike, and Counter, they were certain.
“This is incredibly good.”
The skills were on a different level from anything they had acquired before.
Taesan, who had been quietly observing, spoke up.
“Now, you shouldn’t have any trouble surviving.”
[You guys are quite lucky. Where else would you find someone giving away advanced swordsmanship for free?]
The ghost grumbled. Lee Taeyeon and Kang Jun-hyuk had learned the Ability Sword too easily, without any cost. While the ghost respected Taesan’s choice, knowing the value of the Ability Sword made him a bit jealous.
“Thank you, Taesan.”
Lee Taeyeon bowed her head. Taesan chuckled.
“Don’t be too thankful. If you hadn’t learned it, I would have killed you for real.”
“You say that, but…”
Lee Taeyeon knew. Taesan could have killed them multiple times.
Moreover, Taesan had even gradually removed his gear and attacked them just enough to avoid killing them. Although they hadn’t noticed it during the desperate fight, Taesan had made a lot of effort to help them learn the Ability Sword.
Taesan waved his hand.
“Enough. Go rest. You’re going to have a tough time tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, brother.”
They bowed their heads repeatedly and left.
Taesan stared into the air.
He had expected them to learn the Ability Sword. He believed that given their talent, they would learn it if put in the right situation.
But this was unexpected.
[Special Always-On Skill: Authority of the Master]
[Proficiency: 1%]
[There are those who are learning the swordsmanship you created. As they increase their proficiency, your advanced swordsmanship [Ability Sword] will also increase in proficiency.]
He had acquired this skill the moment they increased their proficiency in the Ability Sword. The ghost had never mentioned such a skill, so it caught him off guard.
“What is this?”
[Hmm? I didn’t know such a thing existed.]
“Is this the first time you’ve seen this skill too?”
[Although I did create the Storm Scar Sword, I never passed it on to anyone, so I had no way of knowing. So there was such a thing…]
The ghost muttered.
[Not bad at all. It wasn’t entirely for free. If you teach this well, you might quickly increase your proficiency without doing anything.]
“That’s impossible.”
Kang Jun-hyuk and Lee Taeyeon barely learned the Ability Sword under the threat of death. There was no way others could learn it.
The ghost seemed to understand this too and clicked his tongue in disappointment.
[Still, it’s not bad. It would be strange if any random person could learn your swordsmanship.]
In any case, he had achieved his goal.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the wave.
The next day, Kim Hwi-yeon and Choi Baram appeared with tired faces. Both looked exhausted from the headache of organizing the people.
They began placing people widely around the perimeter to prevent monsters from entering the safe zone.
“Will this be enough?”
“I don’t know. We can’t tell how strong the monsters will be.”
Kim Hwi-yeon bit her lip. With 85,000 people, the defensive wall itself was quite solid.
But the strength of the monsters was the problem. If the monsters were so strong that even Normal Mode players found them difficult to handle, the defense would be breached quickly.
To prevent this, they had placed Hard Mode players at intervals, but it was hard to say how effective that would be.
“This uncertainty makes it hard to know what will happen.”
Choi Baram grumbled. The only thing they knew was to prevent monsters from entering the safe zone. There was no information about what would happen if they failed, leaving Kim Hwi-yeon and Choi Baram anxious.
“It’s
not going to be good for us. We just have to try our best.”
“That’s true.”
Choi Baram sent a hesitant glance.
“But are we sure that’s okay?”
His gaze landed on the empty perimeter where no one was stationed.
Unlike the densely packed other areas, this empty spot stood out even more.
Kim Hwi-yeon nodded.
“Yes, it’s fine.”
“Since you say so, it should be.”
Having never seen Taesan deal with monsters, Choi Baram couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
At that moment, energy began to gather in the air.
The concentration was so dense that even Easy Mode players could feel it.
“…Everyone, prepare!”
Choi Baram gritted his teeth. Simultaneously, the space split open.
Rumble.
Monsters began to pour out from the tear.
[Monster 5422422335 has appeared.]
[Monster 5422422336 has appeared.]
[Monster 5422422337 has appeared.]
Countless monsters poured out in succession. The sheer number made people gasp.
“There are so many!”
The monsters filled their field of vision.
Even at a glance, there were more than a hundred thousand. As the monsters, who had been standing still, slowly began to crawl towards them, people gritted their teeth.
The battle began.
People plunged their swords into the monsters. The monsters responded with their limbs and tentacles.
Kim Hwi-yeon shouted while defeating a monster.
“If your health is low, fall back! Recover with the potions you have or wait for natural recovery before returning to the battlefield!”
People fought with all their might. The monsters began to fall rapidly.
Kim Hwi-yeon’s expression brightened.
The monsters weren’t as strong as expected. At this rate, they could defeat them all soon. Taesan was also defeating the monsters.
Taesan extended his hand.
Crash.
A monster charging at him was crushed in his grip.
Casually shaking off his hand, Taesan punched.
Dozens of charging monsters exploded.
[You have activated Wind Burst.]
As the wind exploded in succession, the monsters’ bodies were torn apart.
“Whoa, whoa!”
“Just as expected!”
The onlookers couldn’t help but exclaim.
Taesan was holding off hundreds of meters of space alone.
Without any difficulty, he maintained a relaxed demeanor.
Taesan crushed the head of a monster and shook off his hand.
‘Too weak.’
The people had grown stronger. Not just in stats or levels, but also in terms of rich combat experience. There was no one who struggled against low-level monsters anymore.
But this couldn’t be the end.
Just as Taesan finished his thought, the space split open again. This time, winged monsters flew out with screams.
[Screech!]
Seeing the flying monsters, Choi Baram shouted in panic.
“How are we supposed to deal with that?”
Almost no one had the means to attack airborne enemies. Choi Baram urgently shouted.
“Those with bows, take down the flying monsters!”
People belatedly noticed the monsters flying into the safe zone. A few archers shot arrows, but their numbers were too few compared to the monsters.
[Screech!]
A significant number of monsters entered the safe zone.
At that moment, the monsters’ bodies began to twist. Their wings grew larger, and their bodies transformed into muscular forms.
[Screech!]
The mutated monsters screeched and plunged toward the people gathered below. Faces turned pale in an instant.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Taesan descended on top of the flying monsters.
Crash.
He crushed the head of a monster and leapt, punching with his fist. The transforming monsters all exploded simultaneously.